Linz: Top-seeded Angelique Kerber and No. 2 Sloane Stephens reached the quarter-finals of the Generali Ladies in contrasting styles on Thursday.
Kerber downed Alexandra Cadantu of Romania 6-1, 6-0 in just 50 minutes, while Stephens needed 2 ½ hours to defeat Andrea Petkovic of Germany 7-6 (1), 4-6, 6-3.
Kerber was broken while serving for the first set but was otherwise hardly challenged by the 72nd-ranked Cadantu, who scored just eight points in total on her own serve.
"I felt really well on court," the 10th-ranked German said. "I was very relaxed and played well from the start."
Kerber is one win short of securing the eighth and final spot at the season-ending WTA Championships in Istanbul. She takes on Patricia Mayr-Achleitner in the quarterfinals. The Austrian missed two match points at 5-3 in the second set before defeating Maryna Zanevska of Ukraine 6-1, 6-7 (1), 6-4.
The 12th-ranked Stephens won just two of the first 14 points and later dropped 5-2 behind against Petkovic, but the American saved three set points before taking the opener in a tiebreaker.
"I let out some screams which I normally don't do," Stephens said about her slow start. "I am just happy to get through."
Stephens went 3-1 up in the second set before Petkovic reeled off 10 straight points to turn it around. Stephens managed an early break in the decider and the Australian Open semi-finalist closed out the victory on her third match point.
Stephens next plays Stefanie Voegele of Switzerland, who rallied to defeat Karin Knapp of Italy 4-6, 6-2, 7-5 to advance to her first quarter-finals since April.
Earlier, Dominika Cibulkova of Slovakia routed Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-0, 6-1 in less than 53 minutes. Piter, playing in her first main draw of the year, broke the seventh-seeded Cibulkova in the second set for her only game.
In her fourth quarter-final of the season, Cibulkova will take on two-time former champion Ana Ivanovic.
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